Flame of Desire
by D. M. Evans
Summary: When Dad’s away, kids will play


Flame of Desire

D M Evans

Disclaimer - not mine, all characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa et al, Square Enix and funimition

Pairing – Roy/Riza

Rating – PG

Timeline – pre-series, manga spoilers if you don't know who taught Roy alchemy, set when Roy and Riza are teens

Summary – When Dad's away, kids will play

Author's Note – written for the dark/light challenge at ficvariations. Thanks to evillittledog for the beta

They were a study in dark and light, Hawkeye decided, his golden-haired little girl and his saturnine student. He sighed; of course, Riza wasn't so little any more. Somehow he had put his nose in one of his alchemic texts and when he looked up again she was a teenager. Hawkeye wondered just how much he had missed, lost in his world of science and transmutations. He watched them, heads bent over one of the journals he had given Mustang. Hawkeye wasn't sure what the young man thought Riza would want to see in it. He had tried to teach his daughter alchemy – not his flame alchemy, no, he wouldn't allow that sort of destructiveness ruin her life, too – but Riza hadn't shown much interest. That boy had better not be giving his daughter a list of materials to fetch for him.

Hawkeye left them to it. There were things he had to do in town.

X X X

Riza got up and looked out the window, watching her father get on his horse. They had a car once, a while back, but when money got tight and Father rarely needing to go far, he had sold it. "He's gone, Roy." When the young man didn't respond, Riza glanced back at the table and grimaced. So like her father sometimes, it was creepy. What did they find so interesting in those books? "Roy."

Finally, his head snapped up and he blinked her into focus. "What?"

"Father's gone," she replied, trying to imbue her words with meaning beyond that simple statement.

"Oh…I thought I was onto something here." Roy tapped the book.

"The secret to fire isn't in that book," Riza replied, wearily. Did he even notice her?

"How do you know?" Roy asked.

"I know what's in my father's books." Riza went over to the table. She would have to take matters into her own hands. "I do know how you can at least generate some heat."

His onyx eyes turned to her, curiosity gleaming in those dark depths. "How?"

She leaned over and kissed him clumsily. She had been wanting to do that for weeks. Riza spent hours in her classes daydreaming about those exotic eyes and his little frown. Her notebooks were decorated with 'Roy and Riza' surrounded by scrawled hearts and during the free periods, she and her friends would try on their crushes' names. Mrs. Riza Mustang had a nice ring.

Roy sat back, his eyes huge and underlined with the rose of a blush. "Riza!"

Her lips trembled. Didn't he like it? Didn't he like her, too? Riza thought she had caught him watching her but maybe she had been wrong. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No!" Roy's blush deepened. "It was good. I just didn't expect it." He pulled her closer, his lips meeting hers.

This kiss was so much better. Riza found she had been right. This was a nice way to generate heat. Roy gathered her into his lap, his mouth meeting hers hungrily. Still awkward, they fumbled their way through the kisses. Roy jostled against the table. Riza could feel the bulk of the alchemic text pressing against her as it slipped from the table. As far as she was concerned Roy was already good at working fire.

"Sweetie, I forgot that book I wanted to lend to Mailhot," Hawkeye's voice sounded as he came into the library. The teens froze, heads snapping towards the door and their impending doom. Hawkeye glowered. "There was only one rule of the house, Mustang. You don't touch my daughter."

"I…it's not what it looks like!" Roy babbled, jumping up, Riza still in his lap. Riza bounced onto the table. "She made me!"

"Roy." Riza kicked him, landing a blow on his hip.

"Not my innocent little girl." Hawkeye fished out his lighter. He had his array next to his skin at all times, hiding under his shirt. "Now you just have to learn. I'll start by removing a few choice body parts with alchemy." Hawkeye flicked the flywheel and used the flame to feint at Mustang.

Roy leapt out the open window, into the roses, and took off yelping across the yard like a stray dog.

"No, Daddy!" Riza slipped off the table, reaching for her father.

"Go to your room, Riza." Hawkeye ran back out the front door after his misbehaving pupil.

Riza ran after him but stayed on the porch, clinging to a clematis-covered pillar. She grinned and relaxed, seeing her father was only teasing Roy, the blasts of flame nowhere near anything that could be hurt, like flesh or buildings. He wasn't really going to hurt the boy. Mollified, and not wanting to risk her father's ire more, Riza retreated to her bedroom.

Sitting on the bed, Riza glanced at the mirror, sighing. She knew why her father didn't want Roy close to her. The thing he searched for through book after book was actually hiding in ink on her skin. Hearing her father's footsteps inside the house, Riza went to the window. Roy was sprawled on the grass, presumably still alive. At the very least, he wasn't on fire. She wondered when her father would leave the house again because she wanted to kiss Roy again. Riza just hoped she'd forgive Roy's little betrayal by then.


End file.
